Physics 500 Conclusion


State Standards:

GSE PS3 (7-8)-8 - Motion

Students demonstrate an understanding of motion by…
  • 8a measuring distance and time for a moving object and using those values as well as the relationship s=d/t to calculate speed and graphically represent the data.
  • 8b solving for any unknown in the expression s=d/t given values for the other two variables.

National Standards:

Context of Lesson:

This is the final lesson of the three day sequence based on speed. Students have previously conducted experiments to calculate the speed of various events and compare the differences and to use the speed formula to find an unknown distance. In this conclusion, Students will write up a lab report based on the previous lesson's activity. This will give the students the opportunity to analyze their results and evaluate their experimental procedures. This lesson ties up all of the concepts that the students have learned about motion and speed, and will provide a segue into the velocity and acceleration.

Opportunities to Learn:

Depth of Knowledge

Webb level two:
  • Organize, represent and compare data
Webb level three:
  • Use reasoning, planing and evidence
  • Explain thinking
  • Justify a response
  • Form conclusions from experimental data

Prerequisite Knowledge

  • How to calculate speed.
  • Scientific method

Plans for Differentiating Instruction

  • This lesson provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding by
    • Describing the procedure and results in words (linguistic)
    • Drawing diagrams to describe the experiment (Visual)

Accommodations and modifications

  • Students that require modifications will have a Lab report sheet with prompts and simple questions to fill in.
  • Students that require extra help will be given verbal cues and prompts.

Environmental factors

  • Students will be working individually on today's assignment.
  • Desks will be separated into rows.
  • Daily activities are posted on the board
  • Warm up question is projected as students enter the classroom.
  • Opening and closing is whole class discussion

Materials

  • White board
  • Paper
  • Pencils
  • Books

Objectives:

Students will evaluate their chosen procedures and analyze their results compared to the class data by writing an informal lab report.

Instruction:

Opening:

Warm up: You are at a zoo looking at the Cheetah exhibit. You know that a Cheetah can run 75 mph. You time the Cheetah as it runs from one end of it's living habitat to the other in 12 seconds. How big is the Cheetah's living area? (answer 1/4 miles)

Segue:
  • Review the lab activity of the previous day
  • Discuss class data
  • "What does it mean?"
  • "Were the results similar?"
  • "How did everyone come up with similar results if they used different methods? If any results were off, why did that happen?"
  • Outline today's activities

Engagement:

Activity one: Lab report
  • Teacher discusses what is expected of the students
  • Teacher writes all the required sections of the lab report on the board and discusses what goes in each section.
    • Introduction
      • Purpose of the lab
      • Benefits of having multiple groups solve the same problem
    • Methods
      • Procedure design
      • Diagrams can be included
    • Data
      • What was measured to determine the unknown distance
    • Results and Calculations
      • Calculations for the unknown distance
      • Diagrams can be included
    • Conclusions
      • Compare your result to the class data
      • How accurate is your result? How do you know?
      • What errors could have skewed your results?
  • Students are asked to complete this report on their own
  • Teacher walks around the room to answer questions and assist students

Activity two:
  • If students are finished, they are asked to read the section in the book on velocity. pp 307- 308
  • Students are to answer the questions in the book on page 308.

Closure:

  • Teacher wraps up the class with five minutes remaining.
  • All students are to turn in their lab report.
  • Discuss what the students have learned thus far.
  • Preview the upcoming lessons.

Assessment


  • Completion of lab report. To be graded

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